Apparently, the reports of Duke's death are greatly exaggerated. According to a news release sent to IGN today by 3D Realms co-founder George Broussard, his company has not closed and still owns the Duke Nukem franchise. So what does that mean for the future of 3DR and the long-awaited Duke Nukem Forever? We'll explain.

This story really begins on May 6, when rumors surfaced that 3D Realms, the developer behind Duke Nukem and Max Payne, would close its doors for good, leaving the future of Duke Nukem Forever uncertain and gamers scratching their heads over the quiet decline of one of PC gaming's most famous developers.

Gamers mourned, reactions were penned and affected publishers issued reaction statements to the press. One such publisher was Take-Two, which had a deal with 3D Realms to publish Duke Nukem Forever. On the day the 3DR closure rumor broke, Take-Two told IGN:

"It is the Company's policy to not comment on its contractual relationships, nor do we comment on rumors and speculation. That said, we can confirm that our relationship with 3D Realms for Duke Nukem Forever was a publishing arrangement, which did not include ongoing funds for development of the title. In addition, Take-Two continues to retain the publishing rights to Duke Nukem Forever."

The company stopped short of confirming that the Duke Nukem developer had closed, and attempts to contact 3D Realms were unsuccessful.

Then, late last week, Take-Two filed a lawsuit against 3D Realms accusing 3D Realms of dragging its feet on the Duke Nukem Forever project, which began in 1997 and has not materialized since.

"[3D Realms parent company] Apogee continually delayed the completion date for the Duke Nukem Forever," Take-Two said in the complaint. "Apogee repeatedly assured Take-Two and the video-gaming community that it was diligently working toward competing development of the PC Version of the Duke Nukem Forever."

The lawsuit went on to accuse 3DR of breaching their publishing agreement for the title and said Take-Two spent $12 million on publishing rights for a game that never came together.

But 3D Realms tells a different story, saying Take-Two paid that money to former DNF publisher Infogrames/GT Interactive; that 3DR never saw a dime from that transaction; and that it's sunk more than $20 million of its own development dollars into the project. And while Broussard confirms that Take-Two holds the publishing rights to Duke Nukem Forever, he says 3DR "retains certain rights to sell the game directly to the public."

Sound messy? Apparently it is. Broussard says negotiations between the two companies fell apart on May 4 after Take-Two changed the terms of the agreement, forcing 3D Realms to fire the Duke Nukem Forever team and retrench.

"Despite rumors and statements to the contrary, 3D Realms has not closed and is not closing. 3DR retains ownership of the Duke Nukem franchise. Due to lack of funding, however, we are saddened to confirm that we let the Duke Nukem Forever development team go on May 6th, while we regroup as a company." Broussard writes. "While 3DR is a much smaller studio now, we will continue to operate as a company and continue to license and co-create games based upon the Duke Nukem franchise."

In the meantime, his company is fighting the Take-Two lawsuit. Last week the court denied Take-Two's request for a temporary restraining order against 3D Realms. According to Broussard, Take-Two's approach in the negotiations amounted to a "bully tactic" to attempt to gain control of the Duke Nukem franchise in a "fire sale."

"We will vigorously defend ourselves against this publisher," Broussard said.

A Take-Two spokesman told IGN today that the company has no futher comment on the matter.